Transthyretin: a review from a structural perspective

Transthyretin (formerly called prealbumin) plays important physiological roles as a transporter of thyroxine and retinol-binding protein. X-ray structural studies have provided information on the active conformation of the protein and the site of binding of both ligands. Transthyretin is also one of the precursor proteins commonly found in amyloid deposits. Both wild-type and single-amino-acid-substituted variants have been identified in amyloid deposits, the variants being more amyloidogenic. Sequencing of the gene and the resulting production of a transgenic mouse model have resulted in progress toward solving the mechanism of amyloid formation and detecting the variant gene in individuals at risk. Received 23 January 2001; received after revision 4 April 2001; accepted 30 April 2001     

Dynamics of collapsing and exploding Bose-Einstein condensates.

When atoms in a gas are cooled to extremely low temperatures, they will-under the appropriate conditions-condense into a single quantum-mechanical state known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. In such systems, quantum-mechanical behaviour is evident on a macroscopic scale. Here we explore the dynamics of how a Bose-Einstein condensate collapses and subsequently explodes when the balance of forces governing its size and shape is suddenly altered. A condensate's equilibrium size and shape is strongly affected by the interatomic interactions. Our ability to induce a collapse by switching the interactions from repulsive to attractive by tuning an externally applied magnetic field yields detailed information on the violent collapse process. We observe anisotropic atom bursts that explode from the condensate, atoms leaving the condensate in undetected forms, spikes appearing in the condensate wavefunction and oscillating remnant condensates that survive the collapse. All these processes have curious dependences on time, on the strength of the interaction and on the number of condensate atoms. Although the system would seem to be simple and well characterized, our measurements reveal many phenomena that challenge theoretical models.     

Gene polymorphism in Netherton and common atopic disease.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and asthma are characterized by IgE-mediated atopic (allergic) responses to common proteins (allergens), many of which are proteinases. Loci influencing atopy have been localized to a number of chromosomal regions, including the chromosome 5q31 cytokine cluster. Netherton disease is a rare recessive skin disorder in which atopy is a universal accompaniment. The gene underlying Netherton disease (SPINK5) encodes a 15-domain serine proteinase inhibitor (LEKTI) which is expressed in epithelial and mucosal surfaces and in the thymus. We have identified six coding polymorphisms in SPINK5 (Table 1) and found that a Glu420-->Lys variant shows significant association with atopy and AD in two independent panels of families. Our results implicate a previously unrecognized pathway for the development of common allergic illnesses.     

Equilibrating metal-oxide cluster ensembles for oxidation reactions using oxygen in water.

Although many enzymes can readily and selectively use oxygen in water-the most familiar and attractive of all oxidants and solvents, respectively-the design of synthetic catalysts for selective water-based oxidation processes utilizing molecular oxygen remains a daunting task. Particularly problematic is the fact that oxidation of substrates by O2 involves radical chemistry, which is intrinsically non-selective and difficult to control. In addition, metallo-organic catalysts are inherently susceptible to degradation by oxygen-based radicals, while their transition-metal-ion active sites often react with water to give insoluble, and thus inactive, oxides or hydroxides. Furthermore, pH control is often required to avoid acid or base degradation of organic substrates or products. Unlike metallo-organic catalysts, polyoxometalate anions are oxidatively stable and are reversible oxidants for use with O2 (refs 8,9,10). Here we show how thermodynamically controlled self-assembly of an equilibrated ensemble of polyoxometalates, with the heteropolytungstate anion [AIVVW11O40]6- as its main component, imparts both stability in water and internal pH-management. Designed to operate at near-neutral pH, this system facilitates a two-step O2-based process for the selective delignification of wood (lignocellulose) fibres. By directly monitoring the central Al atom, we show that equilibration reactions typical of polyoxometalate anions keep the pH of the system near 7 during both process steps.     

Individual recognition in mice mediated by major urinary proteins.

The ability to recognize individuals is essential to many aspects of social behaviour, such as the maintenance of stable social groups, parent-offspring or mate recognition, inbreeding avoidance and the modulation of competitive relationships. Odours are a primary mediator of individuality signals among many mammals. One source of odour complexity in rodents, and possibly in humans, resides in the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The olfactory acuity of mice and rats allows them to distinguish between the urinary odours of congenic strains differing only in single genes within the MHC, although the chemical mediators or odorants are unknown. However, rodent urine also contains a class of proteins, termed major urinary proteins (MUPs), that bind and release small volatile pheromones. We have shown that the combinatorial diversity of expression of MUPs among wild mice might be as great as for MHC, and at protein concentrations a million times higher. Here we show in wild house mice (Mus domesticus) that urinary MUPs play an important role in the individual recognition mechanism.     

Phot1 and phot2 mediate blue light regulation of stomatal opening.

The stomatal pores of higher plants allow for gaseous exchange into and out of leaves. Situated in the epidermis, they are surrounded by a pair of guard cells which control their opening in response to many environmental stimuli, including blue light. Opening of the pores is mediated by K(+) accumulation in guard cells through a K(+) channel and driven by an inside-negative electrical potential. Blue light causes phosphorylation and activation of the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase that creates this potential. Thus far, no blue light receptor mediating stomatal opening has been identified, although the carotenoid, zeaxanthin, has been proposed. Arabidopsis mutants deficient in specific blue-light-mediated responses have identified four blue light receptors, cryptochrome 1 (cry1), cryptochrome 2 (cry2), phot1 and phot2. Here we show that in a double mutant of phot1 and phot2 stomata do not respond to blue light although single mutants are phenotypically normal. These results demonstrate that phot1 and phot2 act redundantly as blue light receptors mediating stomatal opening.     

The nuclear envelope: emerging roles in development and disease

The chromosomes of eukaryotic cells are separated from the cytoplasm by the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope includes two riveted membranes, plus embedded pore complexes that mediate nuclear import and export. In this sense, the nuclear envelope is truly a border zone. However, the envelope also links directly to chromosomes, and anchors two major infrastructures--the nuclear lamina and Tpr filaments--to the nuclear perimeter. Proteins of the nuclear envelope mediate a variety of fundamental activities, including DNA replication, gene expression and silencing, chromatin organization, cell division, apoptosis, sperm nuclear remodeling, the behavior of pronuclei, cell fate determination, nuclear migration and cell polarity. Furthermore, mutations in nuclear lamins and lamin-binding proteins cause tissue-specific inherited diseases. This special issue of Cell and Molecular Life Sciences is devoted to recent major advances in the characterization of nuclear envelope proteins and their roles. We offer here an overview of the topics covered in this issue of CMLS, and also discuss the emerging recognition that the nuclear envelope is an organelle critical for a wide range of genetic and developmental activity in multicellular organisms.     

On a dynamic mixture GARCH model

This paper proposes a new mixture GARCH model with a dynamic mixture proportion. The mixture Gaussian distribution of the error can vary from time to time. The Bayesian Information Criterion and the EM algorithm are used to estimate the number of parameters as well as the model parameters and their standard errors. The new model is applied to the S&P500 Index and Hang Seng Index and compared with GARCH models with Gaussian error and Student's t error. The result shows that the IGARCH effect in these index returns could be the result of the mixture of one stationary volatility component with another non‐stationary volatility component. The VaR based on the new model performs better than traditional GARCH‐based VaRs, especially in unstable stock markets. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.